


Via Text

by mnwood



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Coda, Fluff, M/M, POV Dean Winchester, Season/Series 10, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-16
Updated: 2014-11-16
Packaged: 2018-02-25 13:53:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2624171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mnwood/pseuds/mnwood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean misses Cas, so he starts texting him every day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Via Text

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [this](http://deancasheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/102529398381/dean-and-cas-totally-text-each-other-when-theyre) headcanon.

Taking a break from hunting is nice.

Sam and Dean drive out to the middle of nowhere, Kansas, and just sit around drinking beer and hanging out for a few days. Dean is glad to be human again even though he’s embarrassed as hell about his behavior over the past few months. He wants to get rid of this damn Mark of Cain as quickly as possible, but he’s got no clue how.

So instead, he’ll just sit here with his brother and soak up the sunshine. He wishes Cas were here, too, though. It felt like he barely got to see the angel at all before he said he had to leave. Dean knows it’s too much to ask Cas to stick around with them, but…sometimes he wishes it were possible.

On impulse, he pulls out his phone and shoots Cas a text. _We’re taking your advice. Wish you could take a break with us, though._

“Who are you texting?” Sam asks as he tries to peer over at Dean’s phone.

“None of your business. Drink your beer and shut up.”

“What’s Cas even up to right now?”

Cas texts back, _I wish I could too. Tell Sam I said hello.  
_

“How the fuck am I supposed to know?” Dean answers Sam as he texts back, _Sam’s getting on my nerves._

“He should’ve come with us.”

“Yeah.” _Sam has been getting on your nerves for as long as I’ve known you two. How is today any different?_ “Cas says hey, by the way.”

Sam laughs and takes a swig of beer. “I knew it. Tell him he should be taking a break, too.”

_It’s not. Usually I just have a case to distract me from how annoying he is. He told me to tell you to take a break._

_I’m taking a break right now. Hannah and I are in a diner.  
_

_Yeah, whatever, Cas.  
_

Cas doesn’t text back after that.

 

 

They manage to take a break for just four days before they find a case. For some reason, Dean feels compelled to tell Cas about it.

_There’s a case in Washington. Sounds like a werewolf. We’re going to go check it out.  
_

Dean’s leaning against the Impala at a gas station waiting for Sam to come back from the bathroom. He stares down at his phone in anticipation, probably because he’s afraid Cas is going to be pissed at him.

_Are you sure that’s a good idea?_

_No, but we suck at taking breaks._

_Let me know how it goes._

Well, that wasn’t so bad.

“What are you smiling at?” Sam asks, and Dean didn’t even realize he was back.

“Nothing. Let’s go.”

 

 

Dean texts Cas once they get to Washington.

_We got here safely. Looks like we might know the girl who’s killing people._

_That werewolf you let live a couple years back?_

_How do you know about that?_

_You told me._

 

When they get everything cleared up with Kate and her sister, they head back out on the road in silence. Dean can feel his phone burning in his pocket. He wants to text Cas and tell him how it went, because that’s what Cas asked him to do. But Sam would get really suspicious if Dean started texting while driving because he never does that. Come to think of it, he never just casually texts people in general.

They get to a motel in the middle of the night, and Dean doesn’t even wait until they get keys to their room before he texts Cas, _Easy case. We’re staying in a motel tonight and driving all day tomorrow._

Cas doesn’t text back immediately, and Dean realizes he’s probably asleep.

However, as Dean is lying in bed drifting off an hour or so later, his phone buzzes. _That’s good. I hope you sleep well._

_You too, Cas._

 

The drive back to the bunker is boring. Dean texts Cas at every rest stop.

_Driving all day and night is not as fun as it used to be._

_Sam keeps falling asleep and snoring.  
_

_I can’t wait to be back in my own bed.  
_

_I think I’ll try to convince Sam to let us take a couple more days off and just hang out in the bunker for a while._

_You’re not nearby, are you?_

_If you are, you should swing by._

Cas responds in clipped replies that don’t really leave room to have a coherent conversation. Dean didn’t really expect much more from him than that anyway.

 

 

When they get back to the bunker, Dean falls into bed and texts Cas, _Finally home,_ before he falls asleep for nine hours.

Maybe he wasn’t ready to start hunting again, if he’s capable of sleeping that many hours in a row without being disturbed. Sam knocks on his door as he’s washing his face in the sink in his room.

“Yeah?”

“Can I come in?”

“That’s what ‘yeah’ means, dude.”

Sam opens the door but doesn’t come all the way in. He keeps his hand on the knob. “Did you just wake up?”

“A few minutes ago. I was wiped. How are you?”

“Fine. I slept a few hours, been reading and looking for cases for a while. You want to stay here for a couple days or…?”

“It’s up to you, man. If you find something, I’ll go.”

Sam nods and starts to pull the door shut. “OK, I’ll let you know.” He turns to leave and then swings the door open again and says, “Oh, Cas texted me. He was wondering why you weren’t responding to his texts. I told him you were asleep.”

Dean drops his washcloth in the sink and walks over to where his phone is sitting on his nightstand. “Shit. I texted him to tell him we were back, and then I fell asleep before he responded. Thanks, Sam.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Sam says with a laugh. He says something else before he leaves, but Dean doesn’t hear it. He’s too busy reading Cas’ texts.

_Good._

_Are you going to sleep?  
_

_Dean?_

_I guess you’re asleep._

_Sleep well, Dean._

 

Dean spends the next three days working on the Impala. Sam goes to help Jody with a case nearby, and he insists that Dean stay home.

_Sam left me here while he goes to work on a case. Can you believe that?_

His phone buzzes while he’s elbows deep in grease, and he has to wipe his hands on his t-shirt before he can dig it out of his pocket. _I can believe it actually. You said you were tired, so it makes sense._

_Yeah, well, never stopped any of us before._

_That’s true._

Dean decides not to continue this conversation because it’s really difficult to get any work done on his car when he has to stop and clean his hands every five seconds. He’ll text him later when he’s cleaned up and turning in for the night.

 

 

_I got baby all clean and shiny. Good as new._

_Send me a picture._

_I’m sitting on my ass in front of the TV with a beer and no pants on. No way am I walking all the way to the garage._

_Tomorrow then._

_Yeah. What are you doing?_

_Sleeping in the car while Hannah drives._

_Did I wake you up?_

It takes several minutes for Cas to text back. _No._

_Well, go to sleep. I’ll talk to you later._

_Night, Dean._

Sam comes back with news that Jody is doing well, and the case was cut-and-dry. He plops down in the library and starts searching for another case as soon as he walks in the door.

“Did you have a good few days off?” he asks Dean with his nose in a newspaper.

“Yeah. Cleaned the Impala, got some sleep.”

“That’s good. You talk to Cas at all?”

“Not much. I don’t know what the fuck he and that Hannah chick are up to.”

Sam huffs a laugh. “Sound a little more jealous why don’t you.”

“Shut up. It would just be nice if he could pop in and out like he used to. That’s all.”

“Sure, Dean. I get it.”

Dean throws an empty beer can at Sam’s head before he leaves the room.

_Do you miss flying, Cas?_

He doesn’t know why he sends it.

_Yes._

_I miss you being able to fly, too._

_How do you mean?_

_You know, it was just so easy for you to come and go._ Dean sends another text immediately, _I feel like I haven’t seen you in a long time._

_I’m sorry, Dean._

There’s cattle mutilation in a town on the other side of Kansas. Sam allows Dean to join him this time.

_What do you think of cows, Cas?  
_

_I think they are delicious. You know this.  
_

_But does it bother you to know that they’re being killed all the time?_

_No. I don’t think about it much._

_Ok.  
_

_Does it bother_ you _, Dean?_

_No.  
_

_Ok._

It turns out not to be a case at all. Just shitty farming and hungry wolves. They stay in the town for a couple days anyway just because.

_There’s no case here after all.  
_

_I’m sorry._

_I’m not._

_Then never mind. Are you going back to the bunker?  
_

_Yeah, probably not until tomorrow. Where are you?_

_Tennessee. Heading toward North Carolina._

Dean doesn’t ask what Cas is searching for or what he’s doing or why.

 

 

They spend almost an entire week at the bunker without any sign of a case anywhere. Dean’s going stir crazy, so he starts texting Cas whenever anything at all pops into his head.

_Remember that time we watched Lord of the Rings and you cried like six times?_

_You cannot blame me for being moved by Samwise Gamgee._

_We should do that again sometime. Watch a movie, I mean._

_Ok, Dean._

_Do you like pie?_

_I’ve never had occasion to try it._

_Seriously, dude?? You have to let me make you pie sometime._

_You can make pie?_

_Sam found a huge recipe book in the library. I made apple pie last night._

_How was it?_

_Awesome.  
_

_How’s North Carolina?_

_Humid._

_That sucks._

_I’m missing one of my favorite shirts._

_You probably lost it while you were a demon._

_Wow. Really?_

_I’m just being honest._

_Well, demon me was an asshole for losing my shirt._

_He was an asshole for a lot of other reasons, too._

You’re _an asshole._

_I can live with that._

There’s a teacher missing at an all-girls school. It doesn’t really sound like a case at all, but Dean’s bored out of his mind and needs something to do other than sitting around texting Cas randomly throughout the day.

“Dean, there’s nothing to suggest there’s a case here,” Sam says.

“There’s nothing to suggest there’s _not_ a case. Boom.”

Sam just rolls his eyes and gives into Dean’s wishes. What’s the harm in at least checking it out?

Dean regrets it as soon as they get to the school. They walk into the auditorium to find a rehearsal in progress of a play called _Supernatural_ starring brothers Sam and Dean Winchester.

Well, if this isn’t Dean’s worst nightmare he doesn’t know what is.

_You won’t believe this._

_Is something wrong?_

_Yes. Very wrong._

Dean sends a picture of the set with the girls rehearsing.

_Does the girl playing me portray me well?_

_Really? That’s all you have to say about this?_

_Let me know how the show is._

_You’ve got to be kidding me._

“I don’t get it. Shouldn’t it be Deastiel?”

“Really? That’s your problem with this?” God, why are Cas and Sam both like this?

“No, of course not. What about Sastiel? Or Samstiel.”

Dean can’t help himself and pulls out his phone. _Apparently there’s gay subtext in the show._

“Are you texting Cas? Ask him if he likes Destiel or Deastiel better. Or Sastiel or Samstiel. CasDean?”

Dean ignores his brother.

_What?_

_The girls playing us are dating in real life, and apparently there’s all this gay subtext between them in the show._

Why is he even telling Cas this?

_That’s…interesting._

_This whole thing is fucking with me, dude._

_I’m sorry, Dean, but I’m laughing at you._

_Fuck you.  
_

_Tell the girl playing me I said hello._

_She doesn't know you're real, moron._

_Tell her anyway._

It’s a tense drive home from the girls’ school, and Dean can pretty much hear Sam mentally mocking him. He turns up the radio to drown all thoughts.

He decides not to text Cas. They haven’t gone 24 hours without texting in a long time, but Dean’s realizing that he’s always the one initiating. Maybe Cas doesn’t even want to talk to him at all. Maybe he hates texting Dean but just does it because he feels obligated.

Yeah, Dean’s not going to text him for a while.

Which means that he compulsively checks his phone all day like a teenager with a crush.

Sam laughs at him a few times, but Dean ignores him. He knows his brother knows what’s going on, but he is absolutely not talking about it.

As he’s getting into bed that night, he instinctively grabs his phone to text Cas “good night” just like they do every other night.

But then he remembers that he’s waiting on Cas, so he erases the text and puts his phone face down on the nightstand and shoves his face into his pillow.

He’s half asleep when he hears the buzz. The light of his screen nearly blinds him.

_I haven’t heard from you all day. Are you ok?_

_Yeah, Cas. Just trying to sleep._

_Oh. Good night then. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.  
_

_Night, buddy._

Dean doesn’t expect much when he wakes up in the morning. He doesn’t have a text from Cas, and he’s not surprised.

He’s halfway through his second cup of coffee when his phone buzzes.

_I don’t like borrowed grace. I’m hungry, but food still tastes like individual molecules. I hope that tasting your pie will change my mind about this._

Dean smiles at his phone and reads the text a few times before answering. It looks like Cas is finally catching on.

_Well, we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?_

_Not as long as you think.  
_

_What?_

_Hannah was getting sick of me moping, so she said we should take some time apart. I’m a couple hours from the bunker now._

_Moping? You were moping?_

_Yeah. Apparently I miss you.  
_

_Quit texting and get your ass over here as fast as possible._

“I didn’t get a phone plan that included texting.”

“Wait, are you serious? Have you been paying for each individual text, dude?”

“I suppose I have, yes.”

“God, Cas, why didn’t you say something?”

Cas turns over so he’s facing Dean. “I was enjoying texting you,” he answers before leaning forward to kiss the corner of Dean’s mouth.

“You stubborn son of a bitch.” Dean scoots closer so he can burrow his head in Cas’ chest.

Cas shifts to his back so he can wrap his arms around Dean. “So this play—exactly how much of this ‘Destiel’ was there?”

Both of their phones buzz in unison. Dean has a pretty solid guess of who it could be.

_Can you guys quit flirting for like two seconds? I’m trying to read Sastiel fan fiction for God’s sake._

**Author's Note:**

> WELL this is all kinds of gross and I'm sorry.
> 
> I'm [deancasheadcanons](http://deancasheadcanons.tumblr.com/) on tumblr, and [this is my website.](https://maddmadeshop.com/)
> 
> [Rebloggable link](http://deancasheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/102753086491/ao3-s10-coda-based-on-this-headcanon-taking)


End file.
